| | | | |  | | By Eugene Daniels and Ryan Lizza | | | With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross
| 
"At this point in time, the Trump endorsement is neutral. It's not a plus and it's not a negative," Gordon Rhoden, chair of Georgia's Athens-Clarke County GOP, said. | Chet Strange/Getty Images | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | SURE TO GET PEOPLE TALKING — "2024 intrigue: DeSantis declines to ask Trump for reelection endorsement," by Gary Fineout: "According to four people connected to the governor and former president, [ RON] DESANTIS has not asked [DONALD] TRUMP for a formal endorsement and isn't planning to. It's a clear sign that DeSantis, who more than four years ago was a little-known congressman from northeast Florida, has risen high in the GOP stratosphere." (For more on the debate within the GOP over the value of Trump's endorsement, see our roundup of Tuesday's election results below…) LORDY, THERE ARE TAPES — Since we scooped on Tuesday morning that documentarian ALEX HOLDER was subpoenaed by the House Jan. 6 committee seeking previously unreported footage he recorded over several months of full access to DONALD TRUMP, his adult kids and VP MIKE PENCE, more details have emerged about what's on the tapes. — CBS' Bob Costa reports that Holder's archive includes "11 hours of footage of interviews with members of the Trump family," including the former president himself, recorded between September 2020 and January 2021. (That, of course, comes atop the many hours of footage Holder has that are not direct interviews with the Trumps.) — NYT's Maggie Haberman was shown a portion of the footage featuring IVANKA TRUMP , in which she said her father must "continue to fight until every legal remedy is exhausted" because "the sanctity of our elections" was in question. Haberman writes that the clip is "striking for how it shows Ms. Trump using a different tone in describing her father's efforts to overturn the outcome than she did in the portion of her deposition to the House committee that has been made public so far." Stay tuned for more. Three top reads on Tuesday's Jan. 6 committee hearing …
And what you should know about the next one … On Thursday, at 3 p.m., the panel will highlight Trump's attempts "to corrupt the country's top law enforcement body, the Justice Department, to support his attempt to overturn the election," Chair BENNIE THOMPSON said. The witnesses: JEFFREY ROSEN, former acting attorney general under Trump, RICHARD DONOGHUE, former acting deputy attorney general and STEVEN ENGEL, former assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel. With four of its originally planned seven hearings now done, the committee is reportedly considering adding additional hearings to the calendar, Axios' Andrew Solender writes. On Tuesday, Rep. JAMIE RASKIN (D-Md.) told reporters that "the original hearings would have wrapped up in June, but we are picking up new evidence on a daily basis with enormous velocity." "The schedule is fluid ," added Rep. STEPHANIE MURPHY (D-Fla.). But how much are these hearings resonating with the public? A new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll offers insights:
- Fifty-eight percent of voters heard about the hearings held on June 13 and 16, and 38% of voters said they watched or listened to at least some of them.
- There was a substantial partisan divide among those who tuned in: 56% of Democratic voters watched, as did 32% of independents and 25% of Republicans.
- Just 38% of voters said they heard "a lot" or "some" about retired Judge J. MICHAEL LUTTIG's statement to the Jan. 6 committee that Trump and his allies instigated a war on democracy so that he could stay in power. Sixty-two percent of voters said they heard "not much" or "nothing at all." (For comparison: 42% of voters heard "a lot" or "some" about ELON MUSK's statement that he recently voted for a Republican for the first time in his life.) Toplines … Crosstabs
NEW: President Biden Calls for a Three-Month Federal Gas Tax Holiday. More on this below…
| | A message from Meta: Doctors can practice high-risk situations risk-free in the metaverse
In the metaverse, future surgeons will be able to practice advanced procedures hundreds of times before seeing real patients – helping them gain experience and master their skills.
The metaverse may be virtual, but the impact will be real.
Learn how Meta is helping build the metaverse. | | | Good Wednesday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels , Ryan Lizza. ABOUT LAST NIGHT — Our roundup of the top results of Tuesday's biggest elections. — BRITT BEATS BROOKS IN 'BAMA: In Alabama's GOP Senate primary runoff, KATIE BRITT handily defeated Rep. MO BROOKS, marking an end to a feud that divided MAGA-world, our Natalie Allison reports. (Trump memorably gave Brooks his endorsement, retracted after his campaign floundered, then threw his support behind Britt.)
| 
| "The race has left some of Trump's staunchest loyalists bewildered by his decision to support Britt, whom he described less than a year ago as the 'assistant' of 'the RINO Senator from Alabama' [a reference to Sen. RICHARD SHELBY], saying Britt was 'not what our Country needs,'" Natalie writes. Among those who supported Brooks even after Trump endorsed Britt: SEAN HANNITY, ANN COULTER, MARK LEVIN, CHARLIE KIRK, Sens. RAND PAUL (R-Ky.) and TED CRUZ (R-Texas), and Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.). AMY KREMER, chair of Women for America First and an organizer of Trump's Jan. 6, 2021 rally: "Donald Trump is disconnected from the base. … It's time for those of us in the movement to get back to basics, back to our first principles. … We were here long before President Trump came along, and we're going to be here long afterward." — TRUMP LOSES BIGLY IN GEORGIA: "Georgia Republican voters rebuked Donald Trump for the second time in a month Tuesday by rejecting his picks for a pair of open U.S. House seats," writes AJC's Greg Bluestein.
| 
| - In GA-10: Businessman MIKE COLLINS crushed VERNON JONES, a Trump-endorsed former Democratic state representative-turned-MAGA Republican, winning by nearly 50 points.
- In GA-06: RICH MCCORMICK, who had the backing of Cruz, the Club for Growth and Americans for Prosperity, defeated Trump-endorsed JAKE EVANS by a more than 2-to-1 margin.
GORDON RHODEN, chair of Georgia's Athens-Clarke County GOP: "At this point in time, the Trump endorsement is neutral. It's not a plus and it's not a negative. … People are moving beyond that." — SHOCKER IN GA-02: Despite being outspent by a 10-to-1 margin, CHRIS WEST won the GOP runoff against JEREMY HUNT, a 28-year-old Black Republican, former U.S. Army captain, West Point graduate and current Yale Law student who many Washington GOP insiders saw as a top recruit. (Here's a big WaPo story on him from Monday.) Since early May, two outside PACs, American Patriots PAC and American Values First, have spent more than $1.4 million boosting Hunt's campaign, per the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer.
| 
| — BOWSER CRUISING TO THIRD TERM: "Bowser wins Democratic primary for mayor in Washington, D.C.," AP See all the results: Alabama statewide and Alabama congressional districts … Georgia statewide and Georgia congressional districts … Virginia congressional districts … Washington, D.C.
| | | | A message from Meta:   | | | PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN'S WEDNESDAY: — 10:15 a.m.: The president will receive the President's Daily Brief. — 2 p.m.: Biden will deliver remarks on gas prices. VP KAMALA HARRIS' WEDNESDAY: — 4:40 p.m.: The VP will ceremonially swear in MICHÈLE TAYLOR to be U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Human Rights Council, and at 5:05 p.m. will ceremonially swear in SCOTT MILLER to be U.S. ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE will brief at 3 p.m. THE SENATE will meet at 10 a.m. USTR KATHERINE TAI will testify before an Appropriations subcommittee at 9:30 a.m. Fed Chair JEROME POWELL will testify before the Banking Committee at 9:30 a.m. FEMA Administrator DEANNE CRISWELL will testify before the Homeland Security Committee at 2:30 p.m. THE HOUSE will meet at 10 a.m. NFL Commissioner ROGER GOODELL will testify before the Oversight Committee at 11 a.m. PHOTO OF THE DAY
| 
President Joe Biden holds a baby as he visits a Covid vaccination clinic on Tuesday, June 21, in Washington. | Evan Vucci/AP Photo | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | CONGRESS GUN DEAL TAKES BIG STEP FORWARD — After fits and starts over the last week — and a nearly three-decade logjam prior to it — the Senate took a big step toward enacting new gun restrictions on Tuesday night. In a 64-34 vote, 14 Republicans joined all 50 Democrats in setting up the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act for "a likely floor vote on final passage by the end of the week," our Marianne Levine reports . The 80-page bill combines modest gun restrictions (e.g. incentivizing states to implement red flag laws, changing the background check system) with around $15 billion in new funding for school security upgrades and mental health programs. How the lead negotiators are selling it … — Sen. CHRIS MURPHY (D-Conn.): "This bill will be too little for many; it'll be too much for others. But it isn't a box-checking exercise. … This bill is going to save lives." — Sen. JOHN CORNYN (R-Texas): "We know there's no such thing as a perfect piece of legislation. We are imperfect human beings. But we have to try, and I believe this bill is a step in the right direction." Related read: "Texas hold'em: Top Republican risks conservative cred for a gun deal," by Burgess Everett and Olivia Beavers Almost every statement issued today by supporters on both the left and right has underscored the fact that the bill is a compromise. For Republicans, it's a message aimed at GOP voters who may be wary about the idea of gun control, emphasizing that this bill isn't the product of some lefty pipe dream. For Dems, it's meant to suggest to the activist base that this is a first step towards passing something more sweeping and robust — a take-what-you-can-get nod at the reality of governing with a 50-50 Senate. The reaction suggests it's full steam ahead… — Senate Minority Leader MITCH MCCONNELL: "Our colleagues have put together a commonsense package of popular steps that will help make these horrifying incidents less likely while fully upholding the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens." — Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER : "While it's not everything we want, it's urgently needed. I will now put this life-saving legislation on the Senate floor for a vote … and then move to final passage as quickly as possible." — Speaker NANCY PELOSI: "After the Senate passes this bill, the House will swiftly bring it to the Floor so that we can send it to President Biden's desk." — The White House: A White House official tells us that the "president has been clear since his address in primetime post-Uvalde that something needs to happen," that Congress took "another important step forward today," and that Biden hopes to sign the legislation into law. ALL POLITICS NEWSOM'S PLAY — California Gov. GAVIN NEWSOM "keeps picking exactly the kinds of fights that presidential candidates like to pick," NYT's Blake Hounshell writes. "For months, Newsom, the 54-year-old governor of California, has been taking swipes at red-state governors known to have presidential ambitions. He has ripped unnamed fellow Democrats, too." Despite his stated opposition to running for president in 2024, Newsom is getting glowing reviews from the political class. Longtime Dem strategist DAVID AXELROD: "If the president were not to run, it's hard to imagine that Newsom would not be sorely tempted to enter the race. … Newsom is young and politically muscular, which may be just what the market will be seeking post-Biden." BILLIONAIRE BUCKEYE BATTLE — Puck's Theodore Schleifer has the deets behind the proxy spending battle between former PayPal execs and friends PETER THIEL and REID HOFFMAN that is playing out in the Ohio Senate race. Thiel has notably and generously funded the Trump-backed GOP candidate J.D. VANCE. "Hoffman, meanwhile, is less interested in Democratic nominee TIM RYAN than in gleaning voter insights from Ohio itself, which his team hopes to deploy in other Rust Belt states in 2024. 'This has been a hobbyhorse of theirs,' said one person familiar with their strategy. 'They are obsessed with Ohio, and they want to fund and experiment in the state.'" Schleifer writes that the big spenders' dueling strategies will "shape the next era of big-money politics."
| | | | A message from Meta:   | | | THE WHITE HOUSE BIDEN PREPS CALL FOR GAS TAX HOLIDAY — Biden will call on Congress to suspend the federal gas tax for three months, the White House announced this morning. But don't expect much movement: multiple Democratic sources said that the effort stands almost no chance of passing, Sarah Ferris and Adam Cancryn reported in advance of the press release. "The more likely scenario, multiple Democrats acknowledged on Tuesday evening, was for Biden to put pressure on states to enact their own gas tax holidays, as states like Maryland have already done, though with limited political gains. Privately, some Democratic lawmakers dismissed the move as 'too little, too late,' with gas prices expected to rise even more sharply through the summer and no long-term strategy to combat it." THE ECONOMY PAGING LARRY SUMMERS — Treasury Secretary JANET YELLEN said she believes the Fed's efforts to combat inflation can succeed without seeing a major spike in unemployment numbers, WSJ's Andrew Duehren writes. BEYOND THE BELTWAY THE STATE OF K STREET — Our colleague Hailey Fuchs has an interesting read up this morning on the latest trend on K Street: Increasingly, influence shops are pulling their focus away from Washington and directing it to statehouses, where they feel their resources are better spent. HAROLD ISELIN, of Greenberg Traurig, put it this way: "The more that there's gridlock in Washington, the more the states become the place where people feel they can make progress on issues no matter what the issue is and what side of it they're on." HEADS UP — "The South Dakota Senate on Tuesday convicted Attorney General JASON RAVNSBORG of two impeachment charges stemming from a 2020 fatal accident, removing and barring him from future office in a stinging rebuke that showed most senators didn't believe his account of the crash," per the AP's Stephen Groves.
| | PLAYBOOKERS | | Barack and Michelle Obama have signed a new audio deal with Audible. Mehmet Oz is "quietly shifting his campaign messaging away from" Donald Trump, Axios' Andrew Solender writes. Carole King is apparently a reader of Robert Caro. OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at the Residence of France for a reception honoring the House Chiefs of Staff Association hosted by French Ambassador Philippe Étienne with a three-course dinner and dessert reception: Yebbie Watkins, Aurélie Bonal, Jonathan Day, Mitchell Rivard, Hugo Vergès, Nancy Peele, Robert Edmonson, Cameron Griffith, Chris Crawford, Paige Hutchinson, John Byers, Armita Pedramrazi, Luisa del Rosal, Tasia Jackson, Madison Nash, Maeve Healy, Roz Leighton, Juan Lopez, Cesar Gonzalez, Bradley Bottoms and Rachel Harris. — The Meridian International Center hosted the first day of the 2022 Chiefs of Mission Conference with a reception on Tuesday night, where Secretary of State Antony Blinken gave remarks alongside Stuart Holliday welcoming more than 100 U.S. ambassadors and chiefs of mission serving globally who are in Washington to network with executives. SPOTTED: U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Jeff Flake, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Uzra Zeya, Bonnie Jenkins, John Bass, Elizabeth Allen, Rufus Gifford, Reta Jo Lewis, Lee Satterfield, Charles Rivkin and Josh Rogin. HISTORIC NOMINATION — Arati Prabhakar has been nominated by Biden to become the White House science adviser, which would make her the "first woman, person of color and immigrant to hold that Cabinet-level position," per the AP. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Seth Harris , the president's top labor adviser and a deputy director of the National Economic Council, is leaving the White House this week, people familiar with the matter told our Daniel Lippman and Alex Thompson. A White House official confirmed the move to Morning Money's Kate Davidson Tuesday, saying Harris "will be taking some well-deserved time off" beginning July 1. Harris, an attorney who was the Biden campaign's principal adviser on labor policy, served as both deputy and acting secretary of Labor during the Obama administration. His departure comes one month after the resignation of Deputy NEC Director David Kamin, who left in May to return to his teaching job at New York University. Harris did not respond to a request for comment. — Narrative Strategies is adding Dominique McKay as senior director, Connor Gerrity as a production coordinator and Kendall Chapman as a strategic comms associate. McKay is rejoining the firm after serving as comms director for Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.). — Brian Bartlett has joined comms firm Kekst CNC as a partner and head of the firm's D.C. office. He most recently was a partner and chair of the global corporate affairs practice at Rational 360 and is a Mitt Romney alum. TRANSITIONS — Caroline Fenyo is joining Rep. Jake Auchincloss' (D-Mass.) office as digital press secretary and digital director for his campaign. She previously was an assistant account executive at GMMB and is a Pete for America alum. … John Christie is joining the Smith-Free Group as senior VP. He previously was chief of staff for Rep. Alma Adams (D-N.C.) and is a Frederica Wilson and Norma Torres alum. … Scott Matus is joining Lucid Motors as a policy manager. He previously was a senior policy adviser for Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.). … … Naomi Zeigler is now a confidential assistant at the Office of Management and Budget. She previously was a legislative aide to Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.). … Tom Van Dean and Russell Adam are joining the Herald Group. Van Dean will be a senior associate and currently is a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Reserve and previously worked at the American Conservative Union. Adam will be an account manager and previously was a legislative assistant at Camilliere, Cloud & Kennedy. WEDDINGS — Sejal Hathi, the White House senior policy adviser for public health and an assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins, and Sheel Tyle , founder and CEO of global VC firm Amplo, got married on June 11 on the island of Paros, Greece, surrounded by family, mentors and friends. The ceremony was officiated by former Australian PM Julia Gillard. The two met in 2009 when Sheel DMed Sejal after seeing her give an interview on CNN. They were both 17 years old, though Sejal was a high school senior, and Sheel was a college freshman. Pic … Another pic — Ben Cavataro, special counsel at Covington & Burling in D.C., and Erin Dunne, director at comms firm Levick, married on Sunday at the historic Masonic Temple in Detroit. The couple met at the University of Michigan. Pic … Another pic — Adam Chernicoff, an associate at Skadden Arps in New York, married Rachel Ruskin, senior manager at Next Street, on Saturday in Montauk, N.Y. The two are Obama White House advance alums who met when they were advancing an Obama trip to NYC in 2014. Pic … Another pic … SPOTTED: Mike Brush, Kaitlin Gaughran, Tim Hartz, Morgan Finklestein, David Mortlock, Claire Healy, Duncan Teater, Tabitha Bennett, Jesse Sendroff, Gab DeFranceschi, Tucker Minor, Ben Solomon, Divya Kantamneni and Lauren Bentley WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Catherine Ross Saavedra, director of media relations at Partnership to End Addiction, and Juan Carlos Saavedra, project manager at SYSTRA A+E, welcomed Nicolas "Nico" Ross Saavedra on June 8. Pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) … Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Blake Moore (R-Utah) … AP's Jill Colvin … Apple News' Michael Falcone … Brian Rell … Pia Carusone … ICANN's Carlos Reyes … Nate Sizemore of Sen. Deb Fischer's (R-Deb.) office … Alisha Sud of FasterCures … Lauren Weiner of the ACLU … Brit Hume … Herald Group's Steven Smith … Dana Harris … Luke Bassett … CRC Advisors' Brian Doherty … Mike Carter-Conneen … Adam Sabes … Andrew Malcolm … Carson Daly … DNC's Sam Cornale Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Mike Zapler, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Setota Hailemariam and Bethany Irvine. Correction: Tuesday's Playbook misstated the number of Supreme Court cases yet to be decided. As of Tuesday morning, there were 18 remaining.
| | A message from Meta: The metaverse may be virtual, but the impact will be real
Meta is helping build the metaverse so aviation mechanics will be able to practice servicing different jet engines – preparing them for any complex job.
The result: A more skilled workforce.
Learn how Meta is helping build the metaverse. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
